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Chinese Inferiority Complex at its Best
'Cute' girl forced to mime at Olympics ceremony after China banned seven-year-old with crooked teeth
By Nicola Boden and David Williams
Last updated at 3:03 PM on 12th August 2008
China picked a 'cute' nine-year-old girl to mime at its Olympic opening ceremony after deciding a seven-year-old with a 'flawless' voice was not pretty enough to perform.
Lin Miaoke, in her angelic red dress and pigtails, captivated the world last Friday as she 'sang' the national anthem during its £20million opening for the Games.
But it has now been revealed the voice heard by billions both in Beijing and around the globe was in fact seven-year-old Yang Peiyi, who was banned for her crooked teeth.
In yet another example of fakery at the Games, China pre-recorded Yang singing Paean to the Motherland but chose her rival to lip-synch before the public.
The extraordinary last-minute decision to splice pictures and sound was taken just before the show by a top member of the Chinese Communist Party politburo.
Rejected: Yang Peiyi (right) was banned from singing live at the Olympic opening ceremony and replaced with Lin Miaoke (left) because her teeth were crooked
Lin's appearance in the ceremony has made her the hottest child star in China and her picture was even printed on the front page of the New York Times.
But the true story behind her performance has now been revealed by the general music designer of the ceremony, Chen Qigang, who wanted to set the record straight.
More...
The country has already confessed footage of fireworks exploding across Beijing during the ceremony was digitally inserted into television coverage in case smog blurred some of the 29 blasts.
And today Olympic officials said they had been forced to draft-in 'cheerleader squads' to fill empty seats in stadiums despite the Games being billed as a sell out.
Ironically, attempts to control every aspect of the Games are far more damaging to China's reputation than if events were allowed to unfold more naturally.
Of the decision to deny Yang Peiyi her chance to perform in front of billions, Mr Qigang said: 'The first condition was that the director wants the image to be very cute.'
Picture perfect: Lin Miaoke mimes in front of billions during the show
A 10-year-old girl who was a good singer was initially selected and used for all the rehearsals but it was eventually decided she was too old.
Organisers wanted a younger child and picked Yang Peiyi for her 'flawless' voice but were told at the last minute that Lin Miaoke would be the one to appear on stage.
Mr Qigang told Beijing People’s Broadcasting Station: 'The reason was for the national interest. The child on camera should be flawless in image, internal feelings, and expression.
Famous: Lin Miaoke is now a star in China because of her 'performance'
'Lin Miaoke is excellent in those aspects. But in the aspect of voice, Yang Peiyi is flawless, in each member of our team’s view.'
He added: 'This was a last-minute decision, we had to do it. We had been through several inspections, they were all very strict.
'When we rehearsed at the spot, there were spectators from various divisions, especially leaders from the the Politburo who gave the opinion: It must change.
'This is to say, we had no choice… We have a responsibility to face the audience of the whole country, to give this explanation.
'Everyone should understand this in this way: this is in the national interest. It is the image of our national music, national culture. Especially the entrance of our national flag, this is an extremely important, extremely serious matter.
'Then we made such a choice. I think it is fair to both Lin Miaoke and Yang Peiyi. That is to say, we have a perfect voice (in our team’s view), and a perfect image and representation, two combined together.'
The decision shows China's desire to ensure every single element of the Games is perfect and control exactly how it is perceived across the world.
It is possible Lin Miaoke did not even realise she was not singing at the time. She was only told she was performing at all 15 minutes beforehand.
A photo of Peiyi posted yesterday on a popular website shows a smiling girl with braces and crooked teeth.
She insisted she was not upset at the switch and was honoured to have her voice used.
But some people were angry, with one blog post reading: 'Leave the last bit of innocence to the children.'
Peiyi is a pupil at the Primary School affiliated to Beijing University. Her teacher Wang Liping said she is both cute and well-behaved, with a love for Peking opera.
In contrast, Miaoke was a minor celebrity even before the opening ceremony, having appeared in a number of Olympics-related television advertisements.
She has her own blog and one of the latest photos posted since the ceremony shows her looking up nervously at the ceremony's director, film director Zhang Yimou. 'Giving the child encouragement,' the caption says.
It is the the second straight Olympics where the opening ceremony involved lip-synching.
Luciano Pavarotti's performance at the 2006 Winter Games in Turin was prerecorded.
Bitter cold made a live performance impossible for the tenor, who was in severe pain months before his cancer diagnosis.
Unpopular: Empty seats at the beach volleyball as Greece plays South Africa
Organisers were also forced to admit today that they were bussing in 'cheer squads' to fill empty seats, having claimed every single ticket for the Games had sold out.
The spectators - in matching t-shirts and banging batons - are being used to 'create a good atmosphere'.
Vice-president Wang Wei said: 'The shirts were handed out to volunteers who were assigned to be cheerleader squads to cheer both sides and encourage atmosphere.'
Officials stress the Games are a sell-out and blame the empty seats on the bad weather and the failure of sponsors to use their own allocations.
It has already emerged organisers faked part of the firework display during the opening ceremony, which cost £20million to stage and wowed the world.
The 29 'footprints' seen springing up across the city towards its National Stadium during the four-hour epic show were actually pre-recorded.
A cameraman in a helicopter was also filming the displays live as they popped up along the skyline but organisers had feared it would be too shaky to use.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1043806/Cute-girl-forced-mime-Olympic-ceremony-China-banned-girl-crooked-teeth.html
'Cute' girl forced to mime at Olympics ceremony after China banned seven-year-old with crooked teeth
By Nicola Boden and David Williams
Last updated at 3:03 PM on 12th August 2008
China picked a 'cute' nine-year-old girl to mime at its Olympic opening ceremony after deciding a seven-year-old with a 'flawless' voice was not pretty enough to perform.
Lin Miaoke, in her angelic red dress and pigtails, captivated the world last Friday as she 'sang' the national anthem during its £20million opening for the Games.
But it has now been revealed the voice heard by billions both in Beijing and around the globe was in fact seven-year-old Yang Peiyi, who was banned for her crooked teeth.
In yet another example of fakery at the Games, China pre-recorded Yang singing Paean to the Motherland but chose her rival to lip-synch before the public.
The extraordinary last-minute decision to splice pictures and sound was taken just before the show by a top member of the Chinese Communist Party politburo.
Lin's appearance in the ceremony has made her the hottest child star in China and her picture was even printed on the front page of the New York Times.
But the true story behind her performance has now been revealed by the general music designer of the ceremony, Chen Qigang, who wanted to set the record straight.
More...
- Olympic joy as British paddler scoops silver in slalom canoeing
- Father of teen diving star Tom Daley hits back at son's partner after British pair finish in last place
The country has already confessed footage of fireworks exploding across Beijing during the ceremony was digitally inserted into television coverage in case smog blurred some of the 29 blasts.
And today Olympic officials said they had been forced to draft-in 'cheerleader squads' to fill empty seats in stadiums despite the Games being billed as a sell out.
Ironically, attempts to control every aspect of the Games are far more damaging to China's reputation than if events were allowed to unfold more naturally.
Of the decision to deny Yang Peiyi her chance to perform in front of billions, Mr Qigang said: 'The first condition was that the director wants the image to be very cute.'
A 10-year-old girl who was a good singer was initially selected and used for all the rehearsals but it was eventually decided she was too old.
Organisers wanted a younger child and picked Yang Peiyi for her 'flawless' voice but were told at the last minute that Lin Miaoke would be the one to appear on stage.
Mr Qigang told Beijing People’s Broadcasting Station: 'The reason was for the national interest. The child on camera should be flawless in image, internal feelings, and expression.
'Lin Miaoke is excellent in those aspects. But in the aspect of voice, Yang Peiyi is flawless, in each member of our team’s view.'
He added: 'This was a last-minute decision, we had to do it. We had been through several inspections, they were all very strict.
'When we rehearsed at the spot, there were spectators from various divisions, especially leaders from the the Politburo who gave the opinion: It must change.
'This is to say, we had no choice… We have a responsibility to face the audience of the whole country, to give this explanation.
'Everyone should understand this in this way: this is in the national interest. It is the image of our national music, national culture. Especially the entrance of our national flag, this is an extremely important, extremely serious matter.
'Then we made such a choice. I think it is fair to both Lin Miaoke and Yang Peiyi. That is to say, we have a perfect voice (in our team’s view), and a perfect image and representation, two combined together.'
The decision shows China's desire to ensure every single element of the Games is perfect and control exactly how it is perceived across the world.
It is possible Lin Miaoke did not even realise she was not singing at the time. She was only told she was performing at all 15 minutes beforehand.
A photo of Peiyi posted yesterday on a popular website shows a smiling girl with braces and crooked teeth.
She insisted she was not upset at the switch and was honoured to have her voice used.
But some people were angry, with one blog post reading: 'Leave the last bit of innocence to the children.'
Peiyi is a pupil at the Primary School affiliated to Beijing University. Her teacher Wang Liping said she is both cute and well-behaved, with a love for Peking opera.
In contrast, Miaoke was a minor celebrity even before the opening ceremony, having appeared in a number of Olympics-related television advertisements.
She has her own blog and one of the latest photos posted since the ceremony shows her looking up nervously at the ceremony's director, film director Zhang Yimou. 'Giving the child encouragement,' the caption says.
It is the the second straight Olympics where the opening ceremony involved lip-synching.
Luciano Pavarotti's performance at the 2006 Winter Games in Turin was prerecorded.
Bitter cold made a live performance impossible for the tenor, who was in severe pain months before his cancer diagnosis.
Unpopular: Empty seats at the beach volleyball as Greece plays South Africa
Organisers were also forced to admit today that they were bussing in 'cheer squads' to fill empty seats, having claimed every single ticket for the Games had sold out.
The spectators - in matching t-shirts and banging batons - are being used to 'create a good atmosphere'.
Vice-president Wang Wei said: 'The shirts were handed out to volunteers who were assigned to be cheerleader squads to cheer both sides and encourage atmosphere.'
Officials stress the Games are a sell-out and blame the empty seats on the bad weather and the failure of sponsors to use their own allocations.
It has already emerged organisers faked part of the firework display during the opening ceremony, which cost £20million to stage and wowed the world.
The 29 'footprints' seen springing up across the city towards its National Stadium during the four-hour epic show were actually pre-recorded.
A cameraman in a helicopter was also filming the displays live as they popped up along the skyline but organisers had feared it would be too shaky to use.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1043806/Cute-girl-forced-mime-Olympic-ceremony-China-banned-girl-crooked-teeth.html
